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Armed and Safe is a gun rights advocacy blog, with the mission of debunking the "logic" of the enemies of the Constitutionally guaranteed, fundamental human right of the individual to keep and bear arms.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

It seems that Chicago Public Schools system CEO Arne Duncan is more concerned with politicking than with educating the students given into his care. Last week, it was a rally in Chicago, at which CPS students, rather than actually being taught in classrooms, were used as political currency for--you guessed it--more restrictive gun laws.

Later, Duncan spoke about the need to get rid of guns and hold manufacturers accountable, as he has after each of the killings so far this year. Last year there were a record 34 students were killed during the school year.

Tuesday's rally will put more heat on lawmakers and bring more attention to the issue, he said.

"This is a public health epidemic. We are struggling to find the cure for AIDS, we are struggling to find the cure for cancer; we know the cure for this public health epidemic—getting rid of guns," said Duncan. "We need political courage."

Presumably, Duncan isn't lobbying to make Chicago's gun laws more restrictive--Chicago's gun laws can't really get any more restrictive--he wants to inflict Chicago-style citizen disarmament tyranny on the entire state. When one considers Chicago's vastly higher violent crime rate, as compared to the rest of the state, that "solution" seems more than a little odd. Days of Our Trailers has more on that rally.

As CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports, it is no ordinary field trip for the students from Jones College Prep, at 606 S. State St., who have boarded buses for Springfield with Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Arne Duncan. Some of the students are even putting law class experience to use in lobbying legislators about something highly important to them.

And what is "highly important to them"?

[CPS student Rene] Howard hopes state lawmakers take that to heart. In addition to additional funding, he and classmates are asking for tougher gun laws.

"My uncle was killed due to guns, so I want to give him his voice," said student Emmanuel Izaguirre. "I want other people to have his chance, and I don't want people to suffer the way I did."

This bus trip (paid for, presumably, out of the CPS budget) to Springfield isn't the only one the CPS is planning this spring--according to this video clip, this is the first of sixteen such trips planned before the scheduled adjournment of Illinois' legislative session in late May.

The Illinois State Rifle Association makes some interesting observations about the Chicago Public Schools system's foray into state politics.

Interestingly enough, at about the same time that Duncan was delivering his rant against the state's law abiding firearm owners, a report was released in "Catalyst Magazine" that indicates that just 51% of freshmen enrolled in Chicago public high schools stick it out to graduate.

[ . . . ]

"It's ironic that the truth about Duncan's administration was being released just as he was damning the state's law-abiding gun owners," continued Pearson. "Maybe if Duncan did a better job keeping his charges in school, they wouldn't be out on the streets beating, knifing and shooting one another to death. If Duncan had any sense of responsibility at all, he would have been at the microphone apologizing to the people of Illinois for wasting their time and tax dollars. By all rights, Arne Duncan should be returning 49% of his $200,000 annual salary to the Chicago treasury. He's doing half a job -- so he deserves half his pay."

Pretty slick on the part of the disarmers--gun owners from all over the state are, through their state taxes, helping to pay for lobbying efforts (in the form of buses from Chicago to Springfield and back) aimed at trampling their own Constitutionally guaranteed fundamental human right of the individual to keep and bear arms. It's one thing to ask a Southern Illinois taxpayer to help pay for the education of Chicago kids, but a 51% graduation rate is a pretty poor return on the investment. Perhaps the payoff would be better if the funding actually went to education, rather than for lobbying for the deprivation of rights.

Education has become unimportant ever sense the no child left behind program started. So it only follows that now kids can get a passing grade if they are bussed to a rally against the the Bill of Rights.

If those parents paid the expenses of the bus transportation (and whatever other logistical expenses, plus the salaries of any faculty/staff whose time was spent on this trip), my objections would be substantially quieted.